In 2006 people were sceptical of Roubini's predictions, talking instead of high growth, a Goldilocks economy and a gently deflating minor housing bubble.

Judge as of 2009, about the state of opinion in 2006. True: contemporaneous coverage (e.g. the 2006 IMF seminar reports, NYT/Bloomberg profiles) shows that Roubini's 2006 warnings of a housing-led recession were widely met with scepticism, and that the prevailing consensus expected continued growth, a 'Goldilocks' economy or a soft landing in housing. Mostly true: scepticism was widespread but some notable figures agreed with him, or one descriptor (e.g. 'Goldilocks') was not prominent. Mixed: the coverage shows reception was evenly divided. Mostly false: his predictions were broadly taken seriously, with only limited scepticism. False: evidence shows the consensus in 2006 largely shared his recession view.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 The changing housing market: A bang or a whimper? New England Public Policy Center, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (by Karl E. Case) · December 2006

   “people in the industry anticipate a fairly soft landing for the housing market.”

2. E2 Most Prognosticators Are Envisioning A Soft Landing for the Housing Market The New York Sun · 22 June 2006

   “most voices associated with the industry say the slowdown should be gradual and the landing “soft.””

3. E3 Records: Federal Reserve Officials Foresaw, Joked About Housing Bubble in 2006 PBS NewsHour · 13 January 2012

   “To be fair, a lot of other economists at the same time were talking about blue skies, soft landing, moderation in the coming years.”

4. E4 They Stumble Who Run Fast: Roubini and Mihm's Crisis Economics The Independent Review (review essay by George Selgin) · 2011

   “Roubini stunned listeners at a September 2006 International Monetary Fund”

Sources from 2006 show that the prevailing view expected a soft landing for housing. In E1, a Boston Fed brief says people in the industry anticipated a fairly soft landing. In E2, the New York Sun reports that most industry voices expected a gradual slowdown and a soft landing. E3 notes that many economists then were "talking about blue skies, soft landing, moderation," and E4 records that Roubini "stunned listeners" at the September 2006 IMF seminar, which points to his view being outside the mainstream. However, none of the evidence directly documents scepticism aimed at Roubini himself or uses the term 'Goldilocks', so the verdict is mostly true rather than fully true.